1. If I understand one of the topics discussed is whether it's allowable to claim only $300/600 of FTC, if you actually have more, because having to fill out Form 1116 will actually leave you with an even smaller credit. And the answer seems to be that it's not ok. Where you wrote "will actual...

The issue is unlikely to matter, particularly near the $300/600 level; the example which started the thread requires $20,000 of foreign dividends. Sorry, I was thinking of the issue of your FTC being limited according to your overall tax rate. Historical data is useful, but I tend to use 7% as a ru...

I haven't read the entire thread in detail, so apologies if I cover old ground, but ... 1. If I understand one of the topics discussed is whether it's allowable to claim only $300/600 of FTC, if you actually have more, because having to fill out Form 1116 will actually leave you with an even smaller...

You say what is best company ... So I'd vote for Penfed, because they're a credit union, which means their duty is to their members, not to shareholders of a corporation. But my favorite card ? I love the Citi Double Cash I just got: 2% cash back (1.99% for the anal), minimal hoops to be jumped thro...

There's no need for you to worry or do anything about it. If you owe the IRS more than $1,000 ... This statement by itself can be a little misleading. Simply owing the IRS less than $1000 is not enough to avoid penalty, *IF* some of what you paid during the year was estimated taxes. IOW, if your to...

I just came across this VPW spreadsheet. I have not read all 11 pages of postings, so sorry if these questions/comments are redundant. 1. I don't understand why you need to enter your actual withdrawal each year. It seems to me the only things that should matter, going forward, are your current port...

Vanguard paid me interest at the rate of $9.8927 per $1,000 face value on Jan 15 for the U S TREASURY NOTE INFLATION INDEX NOTE CPN 1.75000 % MTD 2028-01-15 DTD 2008-01-15 Interesting. That would sem to give the lie to my broker's (not Vgd) assertion that it was the Treasury's mistake. It has still...

Vanguard paid me interest at the rate of $9.8927 per $1,000 face value on Jan 15 for the U S TREASURY NOTE INFLATION INDEX NOTE CPN 1.75000 % MTD 2028-01-15 DTD 2008-01-15 Interesting. That would sem to give the lie to my broker's (not Vgd) assertion that it was the Treasury's mistake. It has still...

I just got a call from my broker, whose fixed-income group is open now (closed on the weekend when I first called), and they agree now that the payment was wrong. He also said the fixed-income group "had a number of other tickets open" on this problem and are following up on it (presumably...

Got bored and called Schwab. The guy did not have the mojo to calculate the correct coupon payment and agree with me, but he was pretty assertive that what I see in my account is just what came from the Treasury, IOW that the mistake is the Treasury's, not the broker's. He'll have someone from the f...

That's correct, Rusty. Cf. 2015 TIPS Interest and OID and Jan 2028 TIPS History which show $9.8927 per $1,000 face value. Thanks for confirming. I don't own the Jan 2028 issue, but I own other TIPS that pay interest January 15th and my broker (Schwab) reported their interest correctly. In the past,...

My brokerage does a weird thing where, when the biannual coupon payment on a TIPS comes, the wrong amount shows up, then it's reversed, and then the right amount shows up; I don't know why this happens, but it does, but the correct amount always wins. However, for the recent (1/15/2015) payment on t...

1. If you have the option of rolling tIRA dollars into your T-C RA contract, that would certainly be an easy way to increase your allocation to TRAD. I like that way of doing it better than my suggestion of opening a T-C IRA for holding TREA. (This is all assuming that you want/need a higher alloca...

HB, thanks for hanging in there ... It seems to me like you have two primary suggestions (paraphrasing, of course): 1. "Given that I'm underweight in bonds (and overweight in cash), and that fixed-income options are generally unappealing, you feel I should try to get some more money into TIAA T...

Thanks folks, for the replies. My first take-away is that it's reasonable that my portfolio performed so poorly, given it was only about 1/4 US equity and that's the only thing that really went up in 2014, whereas some other stuff, most notably commodities and foreign equities, went down a lot. No o...

So just a followup to say I got the Citi Double Cash Card and I like it. It was easy to setup automatic bill payment from my bank account. It's easy to download transactions (for putting into Excel, whatever). Unless I misunderstand the way the 1+1% cash-back works, I don't see why you'd need to go ...

So I just had a look at how my portfolio performed in 2014, and it seems pretty bad - given that it was a pretty good year for the stock market and my AA is about 50% stock. The end-2014 value is almost identical to the end-2013 value. I withdrew about 3% for spending and used about 1/2% to start a ...

Looks like there's a new commodity ETF, ticker PDBC. At first, I thought it was just a different share class of DBC (which I hold at 5%, nominally, of portfolio). But though it's from PowerShares and related to commodities, it seems to be a fairly different beast, actively managed for one - though I...

Folks, we just returned from a great week-long trip to Puerto Rico. Here is "the top 20 things I learned": 1. The place is this weird limbo between being part of the USA and being separate. 2. The people are very friendly. And helpful. Out-of-their-way helpful. Can’t recall hearing sharp w...

A few comments on this issue. First, I make more than $75/hr - lucky me. But, that's only when I work, and I'm not working now. Second, don't you have to log into the Citi website every month anyhow, to pay your bill ? That's one of the things I'll miss if Penfed ceases to be my main card, the autom...

As for chase, if you've only done it once you might slip under the radar, but if they sense a pattern they are not shy in shutting down accounts. Ok, well then, I guess that answers my short-term question: should I cancel my new Southwest VISA as soon as I get my 50,000 bonus ? No. Those points are...

A number of issuers have attempted to clawback miles if the card is closed within six months , but of course ymmv. In general I think the responsible churner would not want to draw attention to him/herself. When I call to cancel the cards I've had thus far (one Southwest VISA, at least three Delta ...

Maybe a SallieMae too, but not sure worth it to have another card just to save 3% extra (over the Citi 2%) on the small amount I spend on gas and grocs (GF buys grocs in lieu of rent, and I don't drive to office these days). Perhaps your gf should consider getting the Sallie Mae :D Dude, she is NOT...

I hope this is reasonable for this forum. I'd like to get GF a new bathrobe and seeking recs. The only thing I've found thus far is: http://www.pajamagram.com/SellGroup/rubyvelourrobe.aspx Not sure it needs to be THAT sexy - almost anything will be an improvement over the one she has now :-( trust m...

Maybe a SallieMae too, but not sure worth it to have another card just to save 3% extra (over the Citi 2%) on the small amount I spend on gas and grocs (GF buys grocs in lieu of rent, and I don't drive to office these days). Perhaps your gf should consider getting the Sallie Mae :D Dude, she is NOT...

In summary, airline rewards cards are great when you get a 30-50k signup bonus and annual fee waived. Afterwards, you're best off with a ~2% cashback card. Well said ! I'm still working my way through signup bonuses, I am slightly bummed that I don't use my Sallie Mae card for gas because I need to...

I can't find anything that verifies for me that the Citi Double Cash is actually a MasterCard. Reports on FlyerTalk is that it is a MasterCard. Even if it's not, it would be a Visa (same level of acceptance) Edit: I just checked my Barclaycard account and you can download in Excel, Quicken, and Qui...

Wow, thanks so much for all the info and suggestions, folks ... On the Southwest, it looks like the 50K bonus is now gone. I don't think I qualify for the business card. I could the get the Plus, in addition to my current Premier, but it'd only be 25K; like someone said, maybe I should wait. The lin...

So the question is, what is your primary goal? Cash back, which is what your PenFed card gives, or travel rewards? My goal is maximizing my monetary benefit. For the purposes of this decision, let's assume I[m going to fully utilize the frequent-flyer miles for air travel that I'd otherwise purchas...

The critical issue for getting the companion pass is all points earned have to be done in a calendar year. There are 2 personal cards (I believe one has a $69 annual fee, the other $99) and 2 business cards. If you get two of these cards (any combination) with the 50k bonus offer attached on each a...

when did you get the Southwest card and how much have you spent on it? It would have been better for you to get two southwest cards so that you could get a companion pass. It might not be too late, but you'd be cutting it very close on qualification. +1 Check the timing of your spending carefully. ...

I have been a loyal Penfed customer for years (starting with the awesome 6.25% APY CDs years ago). Their VISA has been my main credit card since then (1% cashback on everything, 2% on groceries, 5% on gasoline). But the card is gradually "eroding". For years, they just credited the cashbac...

I have not read the whole thread ... but to answer the original question, I would answer with a resounding "yes". I have gotten enough Delta frequent-flyer miles over the last couple of years (by signing up for AMEX cards with 20K-30K bonuses, cancelling them before any annual fee is due, ...

I have decided to get this kind of "bow front" tub, so it can fit in an alcove that's only deep enough for a 32" rectangular tub, but is more spacious: http://www.us.kohler.com/us/catalog/productDetails.jsp?productNumber=1100-RA But how will that work with glass door? Or will you jus...

Rusty, just curious if you had plugged in a humidifier yet or done any other changes to the crawlspace? Sorry, hadn't looked at this thread in awhile and don't get auto-notifications. Yes, I plugged in a free-standing room dehumidifer and it has dropped the humidity to 50% or so. I think it's using...

Our house has two bathrooms. The other has a nice tiled two-person walk-in shower. So definitely want this bathroom (the one that's being remodeled) to have a tub. Can definitely handle a tub without ledges, because the custom-tiled surround can have recessed shelfs for soap etc. So that's what I me...